A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism

In this video, see what happens when Tyler steps outside of his room, with its vast collection of chimes, and into the headquarters of Woodstock Chimes, whose collection is even vaster. (Woodstock, we learned, is the largest manufacturer of wind chimes in the world.) I don’t want to reveal too much, but there’s even a “Name That Chime” challenge between Tyler and Woodstock’s leader, the affable Garry Kvistad.

Reflecting on Tyler’s deep affection for the slight shifts in tone between each chime, Garry notes: “He can hear more than what most people can hear in a sound, because he’s inside of it.”

“We are all differently skilled.” So says Larry, an autistic man thought to be nonverbal until he was given a facilitated communication device. “He was silent for over thirty years,” says his sister. Featured in this National Geographic video, Larry was institutionalized at age 8 and suffered physical abuse from which he still bears scars. […]

Stephen Wiltshire, in short, draws the world with a precision that would boggle most neurotypical minds. He didn’t speak his first word until he was five…When he was eleven, he drew a perfect aerial view of London after only one helicopter ride. Even the number of windows in all the major buildings in his drawing […]

Gregory Blackstock is a sixty-something Seattle-based artist with autism. His art takes the form of meticulous catalogues of items in a type, whether “The Cauliflowers” or “The Law & Order Authority Vehicles,” “The Spatulas” or “The Great Italian Roosters.”

Of Jake Barnett–a math prodigy with autism on track to begin doctoral studies at age 14– Morley Safer remarked: “he may not be the tallest student on campus, but he’s surely one of the brightest.” This 60 Minutes video (not embeddable, unfortunately) was posted in 2012 but is very worth revisiting for its striking demonstration of autistic aptitude.

David Barth is an artist from the Netherlands who draws his current obsession– in this case, “Vogels,” (in his native language of Dutch), or birds. We learned of David from the book “Drawing Autism,” edited by Jill Mullen. Mullen is a clinical therapist who wanted to showcase the talent of those on the spectrum. In […]

Woods is a leading advocacy and service organization for people with exceptional challenges, disabilities and complex needs. Recently some of our clients participated in a photography workshop and then were given cameras and embarked on a photo snapping journey! Here is a video highlighting their great work!